Alternatives to wood shavings?

[reinvestment]

The chickens will find those ticks and eat them!!! They eat anything that moves. The whole flock (14) ran after a ground squirrel once and I'm not sure if they killed it or not, but they will if they stop it and they eat meat. I am looking forward to them getting rid of the moles in my yard. I saw them hovering over a hump and I think they were waiting for the thing to pop out again.
Chickens love fat from the frying pan or stew pan also. Mine fight over them. They're just another type of bird and birds like suet. It keeps them fat and warm through the winter months.

 

[reinvestment]

Mold in a garden?? Wouldn't that cause a fungus to kill your plants? And wouldn't mold be bad for chickens? A fungal infection in a human can be fatal, in fact there is a Dr Simoncini whose theory is, cancer is a fungus.

 

[The Breaker]

Maybe you could try rice hulls, I know there real good for absorption also.

 

[willy546]

I also recommend rice hulls, they dry very fast after a rain, used them for 10 years in my horse's paddock. Now been using them for my chickens. The poop clings to the hull keeping your area cleaner in every way. Plus the chickens love playing in them. Good luck.

 

[kathychick]

I keep hearing the wonders of rice hulls but they must be a geographic anomaly as I can not find them in or around SW Ohio.

Do you buy them at a local feed store?

 

[Chook Chick]

I can't find them locally either and I live in Colorado.

 

[willy546]

Yes, I buy them at a local feed store. To bad they aren't offered in your area.

 

[derbo]

Sand! Used in conjunction with a droppings board and the coop is infinitely cleaner than any other bedding choice. Plus, it keeps the eggs cleaner because the hens' feet are cleaned as they walk through it to get to the nest boxes! There are lots of reasons to use sand, those are just the two biggies (oh ya, and it's cheaper than anything else you can buy!). http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/09/chicken-coop-bedding-sand-litter.html

Hi what kind of sand is best to use?

 

[vivinsetx]

I've been using rice hulls for a yr now. love them buy them in 100# sacks. the coop stays cleaner I have 20 hens 1 roo and 12 babies. I would recommend them if you can get them.

 

[Feathers n Fur]

I started out with wood shavings but find hay bales to be my best friend. When it rains I sprinkle some in the run, actually I just put out three or four clumps and let the chickens spread them out. They love to scratch for treats I toss in there - keeps them occupied. It also cleans out nicely in the coop and it all goes right into the composter. I just read that someone uses shredded paper in the nest boxes. I plan to do this myself. I did give sand a go of it but my silly chickens kept eating it. I do have grit available to them but they found the sand to be oh, so tasty.